


Be Careful What You Wish For

by Rosalee_Mariabellum



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Be Careful What You Wish For, I Don't Even Know, I don’t even remember what I wrote, I wrote this three years ago, What Was I Thinking?, Why Did I Write This?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-05-31 11:38:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 6,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19425226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rosalee_Mariabellum/pseuds/Rosalee_Mariabellum
Summary: Another work I wrote three years ago.I think it was about Marinette becoming overwhelmed with trying to balance her two lives.Old summary“It was too much.Something had to give.And then something gave.Marinette couldn’t take it anymore. She couldn’t. Everything seemed to blow up in her face. It felt like her world was crumbling around her. And there was nothing she could do to stop it. She couldn’t even pick up the pieces.”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter was finished on 4/24/16

It was too much. 

Something had to give.

And then something gave.

Marinette couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't. Everything seemed to blowup in her face. It felt like her world was crumbling around her. And there was nothing she could do to stop it. She couldn't even pickup the pieces.

Juggling two lives was never easy for her. Sometimes she was barely able to keep it all together. And it just kept getting worse. Did Chat ever feel like this? She didn't know. She couldn't talk to him about it.

When the akuma attacks started to become more frequent, everything just began to fall apart. Missing class, missing homework, missing curfew, broken promises. It caused arguments and disappointment but Marinette couldn't do anything about it. She couldn't even defend herself, it wasn't like she could tell them it was because she was saving Paris. Her parents were upset with her, they just didn't understand what was going on with her. Even Alya was mad at her. It's not like she could blame her, she was constantly breaking there promises and suddenly leaving her hanging without ever giving her a real reason for it. She wouldn't blame Alya if she hated her now. She wouldn't blame any of them. She only ever seemed to disappoint them.

Earlier that day, she had had an argument with her parents. And later at school she had an argument with Alya... Right before the akuma attack.

The attack happened at the school in the late afternoon. Ladybug and Chat noir fought the akuma in a hard battle. It was almost night fall by the time they finally beat it. After they said their goodbyes Ladybug found herself not wanting to go home just yet. She knew what would be waiting for her there. More disappointed looks and frustrated people, all because of her. So after letting Tikki recharge she went patrolling until she eventually fell asleep on the Eiffel Tower when she was resting. 

When she finally woke up it was already halfway through the school day. She realized in a panic that she hadn't been home all night. Her parents where probably furious with her. All she ever seems to do is make everyone around her mad. She couldn't take it anymore. They would be better off without her, she thought.

She decided to go to school to try and salvage the rest of the day before having to face the wrath of her parents. Landing on the schools roof she snuck into the top floor girls restroom. Do I really have to go back? I mean I know I have to, I just wish I didn't. I just-... I just wish I didn't have deal with all of this. I wish I didn't have to be Marinette. Marinette thought as she prepared to take what was inevitably coming her way with a grain of salt.

She called for the transformation to come off and waited and waited and... nothing. She was still Ladybug. She tried again and again but still nothing. The suit wouldn't come off. She was stuck as Ladybug.

Oh crap.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last edited on 5/9/16

Not good not good not good.

What could have happened? Why wouldn't the transformation come off? What would happen if she could never become Marinette again?

These thoughts swirled in the girl's head as she paced back and fourth on one of the beams of the Eiffel Tower. After finding out she couldn't change back, Marinette was ready to fly into full on freak out mode. Except she was still in the girl's bathroom. And she heard footsteps.

Immediately the girl locked herself in one of the stalls and kicked up her feet so no one would see her spots. Just in time to hide from Chloé and Sabrina. The blond was ranting about how pathetic her classmates were and The orange haired girl was faithfully following behind her toting the blond's excessively large makeup bag.

"I mean, can you believe that pathetic freak actually thought I was going to do anything with him, before making sure my hair and makeup were perfect? What does he think this is, the Stone Age? Just because the teacher said I have to work with him doesn't mean I have to look like him."

"Yes, Chloé. Absolutely."

"Of course you will be doing my share of the work, won't you Sabrina."

"Okay, Chloé."

"Speaking of pathetic freaks, that loser Marinette wasn't here today. Maybe she'll finally take a hint and stay gone. Wouldn't that be great."

"Yes! Great! Here's your hair mascara."

"And did you hear what that pathetic Rose said in class. I can't believe-"

That was all Marinette heard. She had stopped listening. All she really wanted to do right now was run. Run to somewhere else. Anywhere would be better than here. She felt like she just wanted to curl up into a ball and wallow in her sad silence, but at the same time she just wanted to climb as high as she could and scream at the sky until she couldn't scream any more.

She didn't know why this was happening and she didn't know how to fix it. Right now she couldn't become Marinette, and, to be honest, as she sat on the Eiffel Tower and looked out at Paris, she couldn't help but think, "so what?" 

"So I can't change back. So what? It's not like anyone was too happy with her right now. Maybe this is a good thing. I just need a break from being Marinette. Just a little time away from it all. I just need to live one life for a little while. Paris can survive without Marinette for a few days. No one's gonna miss her. And it'll just be for a little while. What could go wrong? Sure there may be a small search for me, but I'm sure it won't cause too much trouble. I'll be back before they know it." She thought.

"It'll only be for a little while - she thought - just a little while." And as she watched the city of Paris below her and watched the people carry on with their day and live their lives, she almost believed herself.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last edited 4/27/16

Just a little while.

A little bit of time to just be Ladybug and not worry about Marinette. 

That's all it was supposed to be.

That was a week ago.

A week ago Ladybug lost the ability to detransform. A week ago Marinette went missing. A week ago Ladybug decided to not go back.

She didn't want to go back. The more time went on the more she didn't want to return. Sure sleeping and eating had proven to be a little challenging but she managed. She had to make sure she wasn't seen to often or it would raise suspicion. But she was smart, she could handle it, she could make it work. 

The surprising thing was that even after an akuma attack she still didn't change back. Not even when she used her Lucky Charm. After the battle she would leave as quickly as she could so Chat wouldn't notice anything, even during patrols she needed to be careful. If Chat knew.... She didn't want Chat to know. 

Chat was acting a little weird too. She had seen him out on extra patrols (she had to avoid him during those), occasionally he looked worried but wouldn't say why and at times he would get distracted during patrol. She wanted to ask but she was afraid of the answer or of having the questions thrown back at her. 

She didn't know what to do but she didn't want to stop.

It was ten days after it all started that there was an akuma attack at the school. A student that needed to give a speech had been akumatized. He was throwing a super sized tantrum, destroying the school building and Chat was evacuating people when Ladybug arrived. They quickly beat the akuma but had decided to stick around and help the panicked citizens. They had split up to look for the missing students, Marinette was finishing up when someone called her name.

"Ladybug!"

It was Alya. She was running towards her with one hand up in the air. Marinette was expecting her to want an interview until she noticed that Alya wasn't holding her phone. 

"Ladybug you have to help!"

"What's wrong?"

"It's my friend Marinette!"

"M-Marinette?"

"She went missing ten days ago! After the last akuma attack at the school!"

"Calm down. I'm sure she's fine."

"She's not fine! She's missing! She could be hurt! Or worse! Please, you have to find her!"

Alya fell to her knees and began to sob into her hands. Marinette didn't know what to do, so she knelt down in front of her and placed a hand on her shoulder. 

"It's okay. We'll find her." She said softly. She pulled Alya to her chest and wrapped her arms around her in a hug. Holding her until her sobs quieted down. Chat Noir came up behind them and rested a hand on her shoulder.

"We're going to find her Alya. I promise." He said, his words sure and absolute.

"Please...please find her..." She begged, muffled between sobs

Marinette wiped away her tears and looked into her red, puffy brown eyes. "You should go home, Alya. We'll contact you if we find anything."

"When we find anything." Chat corrected. There were no ifs, he was determined to find her.

"...ok....okay..." She said between sniffles. 

After assuring her that they knew how to contact her and that everything would be okay, Chat took Alya home. Marinette headed for the Eiffel Tower where she would meet Chat after 'recharging'. 

She felt guilty. She knew people would worry, she knew this. She knew it but she never realized it. She never realized just how bad it would be. Just how much they would worry. It was her fault and now she had to fix it. But how? 

"Welp, *sigh* I dug this grave, now I gotta lie in it."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last edited on 5/9/16

This was bad.

It was so bad. She didn't know what to do.

Ladybug paced back and forth as she waited for Chat to arrive at their usual meeting spot atop the Eiffel Tower. She raked her brain, going over every minute detail of her current situation. 

'Okay okay. So for some reason I'm stuck as Ladybug and can't change back. And because of that, I now have to scour the entire city, looking for myself with Chat Noir. Great, just great. And to make matters worse, I don't have a clue as to how all this happened. I can't ask Tikki for help, and I can't ask Chat Noir about it without possibly revealing my identity. Fantastic.' She dropped brown in a huff, legs crossed with one elbow resting on her knee as she plopped her cheek into the adjoined hand. There was no doubt in her mind. She was screwed.

"My Lady!" It was Chat. He landed on the platform and she stood up to meet him.

"How is she?" She asked him, concerned for her friend.

"Upset." He said frankly and brushed past her to look out at the city, his tail lashing and his glare fierce. "I managed to calm her down some and get her to promise to stay at home and wait for news." 

Something was off with Chat. She had noticed his strange behavior earlier but his reaction to all of this seemed off. The kind of off that made her stomach twist.

Hesitantly she asked him, "Chat..." Deep breath "what's wrong? You seem...agitated. Does it have to do with this missing girl?" 

"Yes, my lady, it does. I'm worried about her. Here," he took out a picture from his small pocket and handed it to her. "This is a picture of her, I got it from Alya."

Carefully she took the photo from him and examined it closer. The photo was of her and Alya. Arms draped over each others shoulders, Alya was holding the camera and they were wearing her first Ladybug inspired outfits. She remembers that day, it was the first outfit she ever made for Alya, she had been so excited when she saw it and she insisted they go run around town just to show them off. Marinette has the same picture in her room, the pictures had rested in custom, matching picture frames since the day Alya printed them out.

Marinette felt tears fighting their way to her eyes and quickly blinked them back, before handing the photo back to Chat. 

"We need to hurry up and find her."

"What's up Chat? Why so hung up on this girl."

"She's a civilian and she's missing. You heard Alya, this girl went missing during an akuma attack and no one has heard from her since."

"I get the feeling that's not all."

A long pause before finally Chat took a deep breath and turned to face her. "Look. I know you don't like it when we talk about our personal lives, but... This girl...Marinette...she's someone that I know.......outside the mask."

She felt her heart stop. That was not what she had been expecting. She hadn't really been expecting anything, but that was the last thing she wanted to hear. She couldn't speak, let alone make a coherent thought, all she could do was silently listen, hanging off Chat's every word.

"I don't know her that well, but...she's a kind girl, she cares about others..and..I know that she seemed to be having a rough time recently. But I...I didn't say anything."

Silence. Silence filled the air as Marinette tried to process what Chat was telling her. Suddenly a piece fell into place and she had a startling realization.

"...Chat?........ Do you...do you think this is your fault? That she's missing?"

"...Maybe. I just think that maybe there was something I could have done. That maybe I could have helped her. That maybe if I did she wouldn't..."

"She wouldn't have gone missing." Ladybug finished for him. Her chest felt tight and her breathes began to feel constrained. "Chat you can't possibly blame yourself for this. You don't even know why she's missing. Look, for now, let's focus on finding the girl."

She launched herself off of the structure before he could notice her awkward stance and forced smile or before he could retort. They spent the next two hours searching the city until Chat had to go home, Ladybug staying behind saying she wanted to 'search' a little longer. The whole time she was with Chat and even after he left her mind was preoccupied with one thought. 

'I know him. Chat knows me. Outside the mask. He knows me...and he blames himself.'


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last edited 5/9/16

The next day was not any easier than the last. Marinette needed Chat to be distracted, she needed him off her tail for awhile while she tried to figure out what she was going to do. So she suggested the only thing she could think of... And she regretted it.

"Chat, we aren't going to get anywhere just blindly searching the city. What we need to do is find out what happened to this girl. So here's what I'm thinking, lets interview anyone who makes get know something. I'm sure we'll come up with a clue or two eventually."

"That's a great idea, my lady! Someone is bound to know something! Where do we start?"

"With Alya. And she can point us in the direction of the others."

"Alright! Let's go!"

"Right now?" 

"Yeah!"

The two heroes made their way to the blogger's house and found the girl a wreck. She looked like she hadn't really slept, than again she looked like she hasn't had a decent nights sleep since she realized her friend was missing.

"Did you find her?!" Was the very first thing she said upon seeing them. The fear and hope evident in her look of desperation.

"Not yet. But we were hoping to talk to you. Try and piece together what could have happened." Chat replied. The look on Alya's face dropped from the third floor to the basement. 

"We need you to tell us what you know and give us a list of names of the people who might know something. Her friends, her classmates, things like that." Ladybug told her, ever the skillful lier. 

"Oh...yeah, I guess that makes sense."

"So, Alya, can you tell us what happened?"

"What can I say, Chat, she just disappeared. She ran off right before the akuma attack and then the attack happened and after it was over she was nowhere to be found. She never made it home and none of my calls will go through, it's like she fell off the face of the earth and- and - and it could be all my fault!" She fell to her knees and dropped her head to her hands as tears began to well up.

"Whoa, Calm down Alya. Don't panic. What do you mean 'all your fault'?" Chat asked as he tried to sooth the distraught girl.

"I mean- I mean we had a fight. I was frustrated with her and I said things I didn't mean, but I hurt her- I hurt her and now she's gone- She's gone and its all my fault."

"It's not your fault Alya. There was probably a lot more going on than you thought. Don't blame yourself. I'm sure she's fine." Ladybug tried. She couldn't look at her friend anymore so she opted to looking out the window. She could feel her own eyes start to burn but she couldn't cry, crying would only make me hints worse right now.

"But what if she's not! What if it is my fault! She could be hurt or worse! I mean what if- what if- what if she got akumatized!"

'Akumatized? Alya thinks she could have caused me to be akumatized? Oh Alya, I'm so so sorry. I didn't realize how much I would hurt you. I never should have let it get this far.'

'This is all my fault'


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last edited 5/9/16

The only thing that was worse than interviewing Alya had been interviewing her parents. They had had a similar answer to Alya's. They blamed themselves for her disappearance and they were terrified for what happened to her.

"So Marinette had a fight with her parents and than with her best friend right before disappearing. Maybe Alya was right and she was akumatized."

They were on the roof of Notre Dame after talking to the Dupain-Chengs. Chat was analyzing everything he'd learned from the two conversations while Ladybug stayed silent, trying to hide her depressed sulk.

"Damn."

"Calm down Chat, You don't know that."

"It's possible though. I mean why else would she be gone this long?"

"...I don't know... But you shouldn't jump to conclusions, Chat. We need more information. Maybe someone saw something else."

Chat let out a heavy sigh before pulling out a piece of folded white paper from one of his suits pockets and handing it to her. Ladybug took the paper, unfolding it to revile a list of names and contact information in Alya's handwriting. The first name on the list was Adrien's and Nino's was right under it followed by the names of all their classmates and even their teacher. Suddenly the only thing she could think of was Chat saying that her knew her outside the mask.

"Uhh, so, how about we start with the two at the top of the list. Sounds like they were close to the girl, could be our best lead."

"Right. Who's first?"

"Adrien Agreste."

Had Ladybug been looking at him instead of the cityscape she may have noticed how his entire body froze at the name. But she hadn't so she didn't.

"Uhhhh... Isn't he some famous model."

"Yeah he is. What about him?"

"Well it's just that I heard he has a photo shoot in the park later. Maybe it would be better to visit him then?"

Chat was acting nervous and weird but she wasn't going to push it. The important thing was to keep him occupied and if this was how she wasn't going to tempt fate by pushing something that was probably nothing. 

"I suppose. Well then I guess our first stop is the home of a boy named Nino." She said as she plugged the address in to her yo-yo's computer. She already knew the way but she couldn't let Chat know that, little did she know that he knew the way too.

Arriving at Nino's was just what you'd expect. The boy was ecstatic to meet the heroes and more than happy to answer their questions to help find his missing friend.

"What can you tell us about Miss Marinette Dupain-Chang and the day she went missing?" Chat Noir was being uncharacteristically serious about this whole situation and it just made that twisting feeling in her stomach get worse.

"When I think back on it, Marinette seemed to be having a real hard time lately. She seemed stressed out and a bit depressed. She'd been getting in trouble a lot more than usual. Missing classes and homework, Alya was getting upset with all the times Marinette was flaking and bailing on her. Apparently that's why they got into that fight. Alya was frustrated with her and ended up letting the dudette have it. Marinette ran off crying right before the akuma attack happened. Alya went to cover the attack for her blog when you two showed up, forgetting about poor Marinette. The next day Marinette never showed up for school, Alya was still mad but she was also worried so She and I and my bro, Adrien, went to the Dupain-Chang bakery to see if she was okay. That's when we found out she never came home. Apparently Marinette had also had a fight with her parents before school that day over the same stuff as her fight with Alya. They had hoped that she had gone to stay at Alya's house and were shocked to find out she didn't. Alya called all the girls in class to see if Marinette had gone to one of them but she hadn't. That's when Mr. And Mrs. Dupian-Chang decided they needed to call the police.   
It's really awful that this had to happen. Marinette is such a sweet girl, it's terrible to think something bad could have happened to her."

"Thanks Nino. Don't worry, we'll find her." Chat said, putting his hand reassuringly on the DJ's shoulder. "Can you think of any place she might have gone?"

"Not really man. I just know, if I was her and all this stuff happened to me, I'd want to go somewhere I could be alone for awhile. 'Awhile' not being over a week, but you know what I mean."

"Thank you Nino. We'll let you know if we find anything." Ladybug spoke for probably the first time since the two heroes had arrived. 

Luckily Chat had been so wrapped up in the 'Missing Marinette' case, he wasn't paying as close attention to her as he usually did, otherwise he definitely would have noticed something was up by now. 

That was when a loud crash was heard from somewhere outside.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last edited 5/13/16

The akuma went down easy. They all seemed to go down easy recently, It was just the sheer number and frequency of them that made them such a problem. It was definitely weird. The easy akuma weren't like the others they were used to fighting, there was something off about them. Something not normal.

But who were they for complaining. If Hawkmoth wanted to sent weak akuma their way they weren't ones to judge.

The fight might have been an easy one but they still had to use their abilities and now Chats ring was beeping. 

"Looks like we're due for a recharge, kitty. Meet back at the Tower in, say, an hour? We can go and see Adrien next."

"Uhh. As fun as that sounds my Lady, why don't we split up. I have a civilian engagement I can't get out of, so why don't you go see the Agreste boy and I'll meet up with you later?"

"Wanna play it that way, huh kitty? Alright. I'll take Agreste but you have to take Bourgeois." 

"What's wrong bugaboo, don't want to 'hang out' with your number one fan?"

"Don't call me bugaboo. And no, I'd rather avoid Chloé Bourgeois if at all possible. She may be my biggest fan but I'm definitely not hers."

"Alright, bugaboo, you got yourself a deal."

"Great! And don't call me bugaboo."

Chat was acting strange again but if he was going to take a Chloé encounter off her hands she wasn't going to complain. Besides, being around Adrien was going to be awkward enough without Chat there, she didn't need him around to make things worse. So if he wanted to be all weird about something, so be it.

They parted like normal, acting like she was going to return home, she leapt off in the direction she normally heads when they part. Which in fact was not the direction she lives in, but, he didn't need to know that. Besides, she was pretty sure he did the exact same thing.

When she was sure they were a sufficient distance away she stopped on the roof of a Café, she needed to wait a little bit to make sure Chat was out of the way before heading to where Adrien was supposed to be. She was also, suddenly, very grateful that Nino had insisted on feeding them as she savored the delicious smells of the café below.

When she decided it had been long enough, she made her way to the park he was supposed to be at. Ironically it was the one across the street from her house.

When she got there she immediately spotted the blond boy and the photo crew. He caught sight of her shortly after and he seemed a little surprised to see her. He waved to her and began to run in her direction, the sight sending a shiver down her spine. 

"Ladybug!"

"H-hi. A-Adrien Agreste right? Looks like you knew I was coming." 'I just hope he doesn't see how red my cheeks are. I have never been so glad I wear a mask.'

"Uhhh.." 'Wait why is he turning red?' "Yeah, I..heard from a friend of mine that you and Chat Noir are talking to all of Marinette's friends, trying to find her. I just wasn't expecting to see you so soon."

"Y-yeah well, you were actually pretty high up on our list." 'Maybe Nino or Alya told him.' "Can we sit?" She gestured to a nearby bench.

"Absolutely, please." Gentleman that he was, he gave her the right of way. When they sat down on the bench she took careful note of the not so big space between them.

"A-as for Chat, he had something he had to do so it's just going to be me. Hope that's okay with you?"

"Not at all. It's perfect." The dreamy look in Adrien's eyes as he said that last word was only there for a moment before he shook it off but it was long enough for her blush to multiply by three.

"S-soooo, anyway, w-what can you tell me a-about her and when s-she disappeared?" 

Suddenly Adrien's face became somber and he fixed his eyes on the ground. "I-I honestly don't know her all that well. I think I intimidate her, really. But I know how kind she is and how deeply she cares for others. .......And I hate it." 'What?' "I had noticed that she seemed to be having a rough time recently but I didn't say anything to her. It didn't feel like it was my place to get involved, but maybe if I had she wouldn't be missing now."

'Does he think this is his fault?' "Adrien you can't possibly blame yourself for this."

"Why not? I could have done something and I didn't! I'm supposed to be her friend but I sure as hell wasn't acting like it!"

"You couldn't possibly have known what would happen, Adrien. You don't know what was happening with this girl and there really may have been nothing you could have done to prevent this."

"I should have been there for her."

"...that may be so, but, you're here for her now aren't you? Don't think about the maybes. Maybe is a word filled with regret and dread but also with hope. Maybe nothing's wrong. Maybe she'll show up tomorrow like nothing ever happened. Maybe it's not as bad as you think." 'Maybe it's worse.' "Have a little faith in her, she's probably stronger than you think."

"Thanks, Ladybug." She's not sure when but somehow she ended up hugging his shoulders and him burying his face into her collarbone. Her nose was in his hair and he had his arms around her torso. She would have been over the moon had she not felt so guilty.

But she did feel guilty, so very guilty. She had never realized just how much Marinette disappearing would hurt everyone. How had she ever thought it wouldn't. This was terrible. Everyone blamed themselves for her disappearance, but she had no one to blame but herself.

'I never should have made that stupid wish'


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last edited 5/17/16

Jumping over rooftops, Marinette was beginning to think something was wrong. 

Maybe it was the way everyone seemed to blame themselves for her disappearance, or that Chat's behavior towards this was extremely disconcerting. Or maybe it was the way the roof in front of her was tripled in her vision.

It had been several days since her talk with Adrien. Ladybug and Chat Noir continued to interview the people on Alya's list. Everyone kept coming up with a similar answer; '"Don't know what happened but, Marinette's a nice girl, this shouldn't have happened to her."' 

She was stressed. Marinette would be lying if she said it didn't get to her. She felt guilty for her selfish decision and the stress and pressure of trying to find a solution was very taxing, add to that the less than ideal living arrangements she had going for her and you have a recipe for disaster. But Marinette, stubborn as she is, chose to lie to herself about it.

She didn't feel good. In fact she felt downright awful. She kept telling herself she was fine and she did everything in her power to keep it to herself. She couldn't risk Chat finding out. 

But there was not much she could do about it on her own and she refused to admit to herself that she was not okay. She needed to keep it together. They only had one more person to visit tonight, then she could rest.

In hindsight, getting distracted while running on a roof was probably not the best idea. Her foot got caught on the roof below and she immediately went down face first onto the gravel. She would have stopped there had she not been running but instead she bounced back up and flipped over her head, slamming back down onto her back and sliding before finally coming to a stop.

Glad Chat wasn't there to see that. 

She stumbled as she tried to stand up before falling back on her butt. She propped herself with her arms and through her head back to look up at the night sky above. The stars above shone far brighter than they should have in a city sky. They looked the way they would have had she been looking at the sky in the country side. Beautiful.

.......

................

.............................—

Haze

Her mind was hazy as she tried to shake off the fog. 

Her mind was not clear, but after awhile the fog lifted just enough for her to realize she was not on the roof anymore. Instead she found herself on something far softer. Wherever she was was warm, she found blankets atop her and something hard and warm next to her. There was something wrapped around her. Are those......arms? She was in a bed... Someone was next to her... She was in a bed... With someone... She was in a bed with someone... What?... She was... What?

She opened her eyes but was met with the same inky blackness she had seen with her eyes closed. Her mind was not yet fully aware but it was more awake than her body was. She tried to move but she couldn't muster the strength to. Suddenly the arms around her tightened and the body next to her shifted. 

"Shhh, my lady"

"....Ch-Chat?"

"Yes" The arms around me tightened again.

"Wh-where are we?"

"My room"

"Your what!"

"Shhhh. It's okay. It's too dark to see anything and I have blackout curtains. Don't worry, as long as we're careful our identities are safe."

"O-oh....... What happened?"

".....you never showed up at the last house. I assumed you got held up with something so I talked to the kid myself. I was on my way home when something caught my eye. That something turned out to be you passed out on a roof."

"Oh..."

"You had a really high fever and wouldn't wake up, so I brought you here. You need to rest, try and get some sleep, we can talk more later."

"...............Thank you..I'm sorry..." Was all she could manage before sinking back into the dark dreamless void of sleep which beckoned her.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last edited 5/17/16

Her sleep was deep and dreamless. It was so peaceful she really wanted to just stay that way as long as she could, but the harder she tried to stay asleep, the more awake she became. She shifted only to find a weight on top of her. The events of earlier came rushing back to her and suddenly she wanted nothing more than to never wake up again.

"M'lady?"

Crap

"Chat?"

"How do you feel?"

"A bit groggy"

"That's probably from the medicine"

"Medicine?"

"For your fever"

"....riiiight..."

"..."

"..."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"What?"

"Why didn't you tell me you were sick?"

"Oh... I guess I didn't really realize I was sick...or I just didn't want to admit it.........I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?" the weight atop her shifted. She couldn't see him but she could tell he was propped up above her, with one hand on the bed at either side of her. I should be the one saying 'I'm sorry'. I'm supposed to protect you but I was so wrapped up in my own problems I didn't even notice you were feeling sick. This is my fault, I should have noticed sooner."

"No... No stop it. Stop blaming yourself. It's no one's fault but my own. I did this to myself. I caused this.... It's my fault..." The tears were there, she hadn't even felt them come, she simply found herself struggling to hold them in, refusing to let them break through. She didn't want him to know but the strain in her voice near the end was evident. 

The pain must have shown. She felt Chat lower himself again. He pulled her on to her side in a warm embrace. Slowly he tucked her head into the crook of his neck and gently pet her hair. 

He was so sweet. She couldn't take it any more, her tears burst forth and she buried her face into him, trying to muffle her sobs in his neck. She doesn't know how long she stayed like that but to her if felt like a long time, and yet, not nearly long enough.

When her sobs finally stopped he refused the let her go. She didn't argue with him and instead lost herself in his warm embrace. She was on the edge of sleep when he spoke again.

"Ladybug?"

"Hmm"

"What is- Are you- I don't-"

"What is it Chat?"

"…Your transformation… It..hasn't worn off. You've been here for over a day and your transformation is still..here. My kwami, Plagg, says that shouldn't happen. 

"…………………"

"Ladybug?"

"………Chat……I don't know how to tell you…"

"…It's okay. My Lady, you can trust me. You know I'll always stand by you. Just take your time and tell me when you're ready."

He w so sweet. She always knew he cared for her but she never realized just how deep and genuine his care for her really was. Something deep within her felt like it was twisting at this new realization. She felt guilty for ever trying to hide this problem from him. She was ashamed for feeling scared. He was her partner. He deserved to know.

"Chat…I………I…can't."

"Yes you can. You can tell me my Lady. Whatever it is, we can handle it together."

"Chat, I can't- What I mean is- I'm trying to tell you- I can't…"

"Calm down my Lady, take a deep breath and slowly say what it is you're trying to say."

"………I can't detransform."

"You……what?" 

Chat sat up and looked down at her with wide eyes. The deep blue of her eyes met his luminescent greens and she felt herself wither under his astonished gaze. She could see that he was grappling with her words, trying to comprehend the gravity of them. She sat up and met him with guilt hazed blues as his greens widened exponentially as he finally understood what it was she had said. What her words meant.

"How long?"

"Awhile."

"How long?"

You said I was out for about a day right?"

"Yes."

"Then as of today, about… fifteen days."

"Fifteen days!"

"Please don't yell." He bit back whatever shout he was about to let loose and opted for a whisper shout instead.

"How could you have been dealing with this for fifteen days?! Why didn't you tell me?! What were you thinking?!"

"I wasn't thinking! If I had been thinking do you really think things would have turned out like this?!"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't know! I just- I couldn't tell you! I don't know why. I just couldn't."

Her tears came back and Chat wrapped his arms around her again, pulling her close.

"Besides, I didn't want to bother you with my problems. You have enough to worry about with your missing friend."

"Okay, one, I would be happy to have you bother me with your problems and two, you're important to me Ladybug, helping you is just as important to me as finding Marinette."

"Thank you Chat."


End file.
